Fury at Rugby car parking 'nonsense' - The Rugby Observer

Fury at Rugby car parking 'nonsense'

Rugby Editorial 15th Apr, 2015 Updated: 27th Oct, 2016   0

BUSINESSES in Rugby have slammed ‘nonsensical’ parking restrictions.

Oxford Street traders say since enforcement was taken over by private firm NSL last November they are unable to park outside for more than two hours at a time, forcing staff to sometimes park up to a mile away and walk in.

Kiran Bhallan, manager at Rowlands Pharmacy, said when Rugby Borough Council was responsible for parking enforcement the business was allowed to have two cars outside but this privilege was taken away without warning when NSL took over.

“It just seems a bit ridiculous,” Mr Bhallan told the Observer.




“There are times when it is so busy we are having to park almost a mile away and walk in.

“It worked fine when we could have our two vehicles outside and we put a sign in so that the attendant knew it was us.


“Then one morning I turned up to find the new attendant logging my car. If I hadn’t happened to see him I would have got a ticket.”

Mr Bhallan said there isn’t an option to purchase a permit from NSL because they don’t issue them to businesses.

“There’s no reason for the restrictions to apply to us, it is just making things difficult for us.

“Instead we have to go and park in a street in front of somebody’s house, which is worse than us parking outside the shop where we aren’t impacting anyone.

“A number of other businesses on the street are being affected.”

The owner of Oxford Street convenience store Vaghela told us they had experienced similar problems.

The Observer has already reported on a number of issues with parking enforcement since NSL was awarded the contract by Warwickshire County Council in a bid to save the taxpayer hundreds of thousands a year.

Last December we reported how residents claimed to have waited nearly two months for their new permits and in January we reported how a resident had been accidentally sent confidential details of five other residents with his permit.

NSL spokesperson Belinda Webb-Blofeld said: “NSL is aware that a previous informal arrangement existed when the borough council was responsible for on-street parking services, with some assumptions made regarding the removal of a double yellow line, which remains in place.

“In acting on behalf of Warwickshire County Council, NSL and its officers are duty bound to follow the Traffic Road Order to ensure parking is kept fair and safe for all.”

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